Tourism in Johannesburg's inner city has received a boost with the opening of the first four-star hotel to be built in the area in the past 20 years.
Officially launched on Tuesday, the Mapungubwe Hotel Apartments is an upmarket hotel located on Marshall, Anderson and Ferreira streets in the heart of the financial business district in downtown Johannesburg.
The 91-bedroomed hotel is decorated to accommodate the modern lifestyle of city living while echoing elements of African history.
Other facilities include a restaurant, a bar, a business centre and a fully equipped gym.
The hotel is named after the Mapungubwe Heritage site in the Limpopo Province. This beautiful, resource rich area is also the site of a number of archaeological discoveries.
Speaking at the launch Gauteng Local Government MEC Qedani Dorothy said the Mapungubwe Hotel Apartment Mahlangu and its contribution to the rejuvenation of the inner city would promote tourism.
"Any massive investment in the inner city will yield good returns and effectively contribute to the regeneration of the city, tourism as well as job creation,” she said.
Mahlangu applauded Circle Vest Properties, the City of Johannesburg, the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) and the Gauteng Provincial Government for supporting government's initiative to bring life into the inner city.
Developer Gustav Holtzhausen of Circle Vest Properties said the grand opening of the hotel bears testimony to the successful efforts by private sector to restore the inner city into its former glory.
"Prior to the birth of Mapungubwe Hotel Apartments, visitors doing business in the inner city could only find the closest A-grade accommodation in either Sandton or Rosebank. This is now a limitation of the past," said Holtzhausen.
Mahlangu urged the private sector to continue investing in the inner city in order to ensure that the City of Johannesburg accomplishes its mission of becoming a world class African city.
Source: BuaNews / SAGN
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